


This Really Bites

by NantucketCat



Category: Archie Comics, Archie Comics & Related Fandoms, Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Crying, Dentistry, Fluff, Gen, Hiding Medical Issues, Hurt/Comfort, Medical Procedures, Pain, Sleepiness, Stitches, Whump, Wisdom Teeth, platonic Archie/Jughead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-15
Updated: 2017-09-15
Packaged: 2018-12-30 01:42:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12097947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NantucketCat/pseuds/NantucketCat
Summary: Jughead has to get his wisdom teeth pulled. Fortunately, Archie and Fred are there to help him.





	This Really Bites

**Author's Note:**

> A lot of this is based on my own experience getting my wisdom teeth pulled. I admittedly was a big baby about the whole thing, and I can totally imagine Jughead being the same way.

This explains why babies cry so much when they’re teething, Jughead thought. He’d known for a while that his wisdom teeth were coming in, but things had really only started to hurt in the past two weeks. At first it was just some pressure and minor headaches, but more and more, it was starting to hurt when he ate, especially if anything got stuck in the areas where the new teeth were making their entrance.

Jughead was almost proud of how well he was hiding this, especially since he was staying at the Andrews house. He figured Archie or Fred would eventually notice something was wrong, but so far, everything was smooth sailing. He just hoped the pain would stop soon.

No such luck. Monday morning before school, Archie happened to catch him sneaking pain relievers from the bathroom.

“Hey, what’s up?” he asked, startling Jughead. Shit.

“Uh, I just have a bit of a headache this morning. I think I just didn’t sleep well. No big deal,” Jughead quickly lied. Archie gave him a funny look, but knew questioning him further most likely wouldn’t get him anywhere. 

They left for school, Jughead hoping beyond hope that today he would start to feel better. He couldn’t stand the thought of telling anyone how much his teeth were bothering him; it was embarrassing, and he felt stupid even thinking about it.

Throughout his morning classes, Jughead noticed the pain progressively getting worse, and he found himself frequently rubbing around his jaw area to try to soothe it. Unfortunately, this wasn’t helping, and he wondered how he was going to get through lunch without anyone noticing. The charade wasn’t going to last forever; people were already looking at him weird, some seeming to even express concern. This came to a peak when Betty happened to see him in the hallway between third and fourth period.

“Jughead, what happened?” she asked. “Did you get hit in the face or something?”

Shit, he was caught.

“Seriously, why is your face swollen?” she pressed further as she got out her phone. “I’m telling Archie something happened to you. Did someone hit you or something?”

“Please don’t!” Jughead begged. He started to feel tears coming to his eyes from the pain and humiliation. “It’s really no big deal. I’ve just had a little toothache recently, but nobody needs to know.”

Betty got a mirror out of her purse. “Tell me again how this is no big deal,” she said as she showed him his face. He gasped at the sight; he was noticeably swollen. There was no hiding this anymore.

“Archie is going to meet you at the nurse’s office,” Betty continued. “You’re going to get an ice pack, and Fred and Archie are going to take you to get this checked out.” She stopped Jughead before he could protest. “I’ve already texted both of them, so you’re not getting out of this.” Jughead just rolled his eyes and sighed as he walked off.  
………………………………………………………………………….

“God, Jughead, why didn’t you say something?” Archie demanded as Jughead sat in the nurse’s office holding ice packs to his face. It was hard to see his friend in such a pathetic state.

“I really don’t want to get into it,” Jughead muttered. Thankfully, he was saved from further questioning, at least for the moment, as Fred arrived to pick them up. He’d found a dental clinic that could see Jughead that afternoon, so he hoped Jughead wouldn’t have to suffer much longer.

The car ride there went by in awkward silence. If he was really being honest, Jughead didn’t want to admit he was scared out of his mind. He’d had really bad experiences with dentists when he was younger; at this point, it was easier to just deal with the pain than to put himself through dental treatment.

This feeling was reaffirmed once at the dental clinic. As soon as he mentioned wisdom teeth, the dentist wanted to take X rays, which Jughead always hated; the equipment always touched the back of his throat and made him gag, so the X rays had to be redone what felt like a million times. It also didn’t help that the technician kept trying to reassure him. With this many failed attempts, he obviously wasn’t “doing great,” and it seemed highly unlikely that “this happens to everyone.” Finally, to Jughead’s relief, the dentist declared that they’d gotten a usable image, which he pulled up on the TV screen to show Jughead.

“Here’s each of your wisdom teeth,” he said, pointing them out on the screen. “You’re fortunate that they all grew in straight like other molars, but they have extensive decay.”

“Does that mean they just need fillings?” Jughead asked, hopeful that the situation might not be as bad as he expected.

“Unfortunately, no,” the dentist continued. “Wisdom teeth tend to be very difficult for patients to keep clean, so decay tends to come back even if we attempt to repair them. The best option is to have them extracted. Removing wisdom teeth tends to have more complications than regular tooth extractions, so we don’t do it here at the clinic; I will have to refer you to an oral surgeon.”

Fuck. How was he going to explain this to Archie and Fred?

“I’ll be right back. I’m going to see how soon you can get in to have the teeth extracted. I’m assuming you’d like to get it over with as soon as possible?” the dentist asked. Jughead just nodded; he felt an odd tightness in his throat and thought he might burst into tears if he tried to say anything. For the next few minutes, he was left to sit in the dental chair, dreading the thought of explaining this.

“I have some good news for you,” the dentist said as he returned. “Dr. Nizar has an opening for you tomorrow afternoon. Your dad already told me he’d be available to drive you home afterward.” It wasn’t worth explaining about Fred and the whole family situation, so Jughead didn’t even correct him about that. The dentist handed him a small packet of papers. “Here’s some information about how to prepare for the procedure and what you can expect afterward.” The dentist smiled. “Most people have to get this done at some point. You’ll do just fine,” he reassured, although it wasn’t much help to Jughead.

“Good God, Jughead!” Archie shouted as soon as they were back in the car. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell us? What did you think was going to happen?”

“Hey, take it easy, Arch,” Fred said. “Lots of people get scared about this kind of thing. Jughead, you know we’re always willing to take care of you, right?”

“Mmhm,” Jughead muttered, pressing his cheek against the cool window. He wasn’t sure if he actually fell asleep or just zoned out, but the next thing he knew, they were back at the house. As soon as they arrived, he sulked off to Archie’s room, plopping down on the air mattress and completely covering himself with blankets. He was scared and in pain and just didn’t want to face anyone, and thankfully Archie got the hint.

………………………………………………………..

He didn’t think it was possible, but he must have fallen asleep at some point, since he later woke up to an empty house. His phone told him it was almost one in the afternoon. Initially confused, he soon remembered that his procedure was later in the afternoon, so Archie must have gone to school and Fred to work. Thank God they picked up on the fact that he wanted to be left alone.

He found a small flashlight and took it to the bathroom; he might as well take one last look at his wisdom teeth before they were gone. Now that it had been pointed out to him, they really were in bad shape. Maybe this was why it hurt so bad when anything got stuck back there. Sighing, he went back to Archie’s room, got his phone, and started looking up videos of people getting their wisdom teeth pulled. As scared as he was, he also had some morbid curiosity about what was going to happen to him soon. He lost track of time until he got a text from Archie telling him to be ready to go in fifteen minutes.  
Here goes, he thought, heading to the car as it pulled up.

It was another quiet, awkward car ride on the way to the oral surgeon, but to Jughead’s surprise, when he was called back, Archie accompanied him to the room where the procedure would be taking place.

“I’ve been hard on you lately, Juggie,” Archie admitted, patting Jughead on the back. “I guess I just don’t understand why you won’t tell us when something is wrong.” Jughead could only shrug; at this point, he was visibly shaking and sweating as the nurse led them to the room. Soon, Dr. Nizar was there.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Jones!” he said. He put his hand out to shake, but Jughead was too nervous and shaky to take it. “You seem very anxious about this. You’re going to have an IV to put you to sleep so you won’t feel anything during the procedure, but I think that will be easier once you’ve calmed down a bit. Are you okay with getting nitrous oxide?”

Jughead looked a bit confused. “It’s laughing gas, Jug,” Archie explained, and Jughead nodded.

“Alright, here we go,” Dr. Nizar said, putting the mask over Jughead’s nose. A calm feeling came over Jughead, but for some reason, he also started to cry.

“Archie, this is so stupid!” he wailed. “I feel like I’m going to die!” Tears streamed down his face.

“Shh, it’s okay, you’re not going to die,” Archie reassured Jughead. He felt bad for him, but at the same time, he had to hold back laughter. Leave it to Jughead to cry when he got laughing gas. “Why don’t you try just lying there with your eyes closed and thinking about how much better you’re going to feel soon?” Archie suggested. He saw the doctor getting the IV ready and figured Jughead didn’t need that added source of anxiety.

“Hmmm,” Jughead murmured, still crying, but starting to calm down a bit. He felt the needle go into his arm, but couldn’t be bothered to think much about it. “Huh, I don’t know, I feel weird,” he mused as everything faded out.  
………………………………………..

Jughead thought he remembered lying down, but now he seemed to be in a seated position. The room was really cold and smelled weird. How odd. As Jughead woke up more, he realized Archie wasn’t in the room anymore, and he felt like there was something weird in his mouth. Gauze, he realized. He brought his hands to his face and noticed that he had ice packs strapped to each side.

“Good, you’re awake!” a nurse said as she came into the room. “Let’s get you out to the recovery room so you can head home soon!” She tried to encourage him to get out of the dentist’s chair.

“Mmmf, comfy here,” Jughead managed to say through the gauze.

The nurse chuckled. “I think you’ll like it better in this other room,” she promised, leading him to a cozy leather recliner. “I’ll let your folks know you’re ready to go home,” she said cheerfully. Jughead just sat there, still feeling weird, but enjoying how comfortable this other chair was; the nurse was definitely right about that. Fred and Archie soon arrived. They both seemed happy to see him, but at the moment, Jughead’s mind was still a bit too foggy to process what was going on.

“Come on, let’s get you home,” Fred said. Archie put his hand out Jughead’s back as they led him out the back door and to the car.

“Dr. Nizar told us you did great,” Archie said. “How do you feel?”

There was no response, as Jughead had fallen asleep leaning against the window. He still felt confused and out of it as they got back to the house and Archie led him to his room.

“Here we go,” Archie said, piling extra pillows at the head of his bed. “I’ve read that you should sleep propped up after having your wisdom teeth pulled, so this should help.”

“That’s your bed,” Jughead pointed out. In his foggy state, he still knew that, so how did Archie seem to forget this simple fact? God, nothing made sense.

“I want you to be comfortable while you recover,” Archie explained. “I’ll take the air mattress for now. You need to rest, and it’s a lot easier to do that in a proper bed.”   
Can’t argue with that, Jughead thought as he sat on the bed. To his surprise, Archie was suddenly taking the ice packs off his face.

“These are starting to melt,” he explained. “You might not be able to feel much now, but when the drugs wear off, you’ll be thankful for the fresh ice packs.”

Just then, Fred came in with a small bag from the pharmacy. “You’ll have to take antibiotics for ten days,” he explained. “Every eight hours, just to make sure your sockets don’t get infected.” Seeing Jughead’s look of dread, he continued. “This might seem a little ridiculous, but Archie told me you have trouble with big pills, so I went ahead and requested the pink liquid medicine like little kids get.” Jughead felt embarrassed, but also grateful. He was very familiar with that stuff after countless illnesses as a kid, and even though it made his stomach feel funny, it was a lot easier to take than the huge pill form that antibiotics so often came in. Fred measured out the first dose, then got Jughead’s phone.

“I’m going to set an alarm to go off every eight hours so you don’t miss a dose,” he explained. Just then, Archie came in with new ice packs. Jughead still wasn’t in much pain, but he was thankful anyway. Lying down on his side, he put one on the pillow under his face and laid the other over the other side of his face.

“I want to sleep,” Jughead said, barely getting the words out as he drifted off. Archie pulled a blanket over him, and Fred turned the light off as they left the room.  
……………………………………….

When Jughead woke up, he noticed a message on his phone.

“Text me when you get hungry.” It was from Archie.

Come to think of it, Jughead couldn’t remember a time he’d gone this long without eating. He did feel hungry, almost to the point that it was painful, but he also was starting to feel an ache in his now-empty wisdom tooth sockets and wondered how exactly he was going to be able to eat.

“Is that even a question?” Jughead texted back. After about fifteen minutes, he heard Archie coming to the room.

“See if you can manage this,” Archie said, handing him a bottle of water and a bowl of mashed potatoes, which Jughead gratefully accepted, so hungry that no food had ever smelled as amazing as this.

He winced as he ate the first forkful. “It feels weird when I swallow,” he complained. “Like something is pulling on the sockets. I don’t like it.”

“It’s probably just from the stitches,” Archie explained. “Eating is going to feel a little funny at first.”

Jughead felt tears coming to his eyes again. “I have stitches? Why did I even do this?” he asked, starting to cry. “This didn’t happen before I got them pulled! This is the worst thing that’s ever happened.”

Archie patted him on the back. “Shh, it’s okay,” he soothed. Obviously the drugs hadn’t completely worn off, and Jughead still wasn’t quite back to himself. “Can you try eating a little more? I know it feels weird, but I promise you’re not going to pull the stitches out or anything. I think you’ll feel better if you’re not hungry.” Archie never thought the day would come when he had to coax Jughead to eat.

“I’ll try,” Jughead said. It took him much longer than usual, but he did eventually finish all the mashed potatoes and the bottle of water.

“See, that wasn’t too bad,” Archie said, taking the empty bowl and fork. “Do you feel a little better now?” Jughead nodded. Just then, the alarm went off to let him know it was time for his next dose of antibiotics. Still savoring the aftertaste of the sweet-tasting medicine, Jughead yawned and went back to sleep.  
………………………………………………….

The next two days were a blur of naps, soft foods, changing ice packs, and seemingly endless doses of medicine. By Friday morning, Jughead felt good enough to try going back to school.

“Are you sure?” Fred asked sternly. “I don’t want any more of this hiding pain from us.”

“Yeah, I’m sure I’m okay. You guys have taken great care of me.” Jughead grabbed his messenger bag. “Plus, this gives me a chance to try going to school before the weekend. If I have any problems, I’ll have two more days to recover.”

Fred smiled. Jughead really was a smart kid; he just sometimes forgot that when he was in pain. He was going to be just fine.


End file.
